Cat Cafes Are Purrfect for Some, but Soon the Dog Cafe May Have Its Day

Cat cafes have been getting a lot of attention of late. But a cuddly new concept is hot on the kitty coffee shop’s tail: The Dog Cafe.

Animal aficionados in Los Angeles are aiming to bring America its first dog cafe. Aspiring Dog Cafe founders Sarah and Aaron Wolfgang have
launched a campaign on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo in hopes of raising $200,000 to make their
dog-and-java dreams a reality.

Although they still have a long way to go to reach their goal (with less than $3,000 at last check, they’re not even close to arf-way there), the Dog Cafe team foresees a world where adoptable pooches intermingle with latte-sipping dog lovers, forming deep and meaningful connections and, perhaps, finding “forever homes.”

“The Dog Cafe is going to put a spin on the way people adopt by totally reinventing the way we connect with homeless dogs,” they promise. “We want to provide you with the opportunity to see these highly adoptable pooches in their true light. And even if you're not looking to adopt, you can still enjoy all of the sloppy kisses you've ever wanted.”

The cafe, as envisioned by its founders, will have two sections, one for coffee sales and the other for dog cuddling, in order to satisfy L.A. Health Department requirements. (Although they are
two separate spaces, you can see the dogs from the coffee area via a big glass window, and you can take your coffee into the dog area.) And even if you just come in for a cup o’ joe and don’t adopt or share that sloppy kiss with a dog, you’re helping caninekind. The cafe will offer Grounds & Hounds Coffee, which pledges not only to provide “top-quality, Fair Trade Organic, 100% Arabica beans,” but also to donate 20 percent of all Southern California proceeds to local dog-rescue efforts.

Contributing to The Dog Cafe has its perks, ranging from a “pre-paid ticket to cuddle with the dogs” for a $5 donation to an opportunity to have your “name and/or positive message … engraved onto a plaque” and “immortalized” on a table at the cafe, as well as tickets to the cafe’s “exclusive opening” and a “12 VVIP card” that allows the holder to skip lines and snag one free medium drink 12 times within the first year the cafe is open, all yours for only $5,000.

Wow, for 5,000 bones, you’d think they’d at least make that free drink a large …